There are constantly events being put on for the crew, like Bingo, Quizzes, Parties But now, they had thought of something new. A talent show. When I saw the poster advertising it in the crew mess I didn’t think too much into it, but when I saw the prize was $1000, I began thinking of any hidden talents that I possessed.
After about an hour of thinking about what I would do with an extra $1000, and then laughing and joking about it with friends, I signed up. I had nothing to lose and the Talent Show probably wouldn’t happen anyway, because how many people are really going to watch it, let alone sign up?
I chose to sing “Someone like you” by Adele. Singing was really the only thing I had to offer and at the time, that was the song I was listening too on repeat, so it was a no-brainer. A few days after hearing nothing I was sure the Talent Show had just died a quiet death until I was called out of work to do a rehearsal. That was when I thought “Shit! Maybe I should be taking this more seriously if I’m being pulled out of work for it”. That thought was definitely confirmed when I saw how many people had signed up and the level of talent that I would be up against. There were beatboxers, dancers, magicians. And to top it off, a panel of judges that were made up of crew members from the Entertainment Department. It was like Britains Got Talent, not to mention the massive theatre that we would be performing in. I stupidly thought we would do it in the crew bar which can hold about 50 people, unlike the theatre which can hold about 1000.
The sound guy had found me the backing track and ushered me on the stage to start my rehearsal.You know how some people say when they go up on stage and the light comes on, they just feel at home. Yeah… That’s not me. I started squinting because the lights were so bright, sweaty palms, my heart started racing and I could barely hear the backing track because a safety drill was being carried out at the time, so there were sirens going off, which didn’t really help convey the mood of the song.
I began singing into the mic quickly realising I hadn’t turned it on. While singing I started to panic that the lights would leave me with impaired vision. The mic kept slipping through my sweaty palms, so I looked like I was doing the actions to the Hot Potato song. When I had finished the song I practically threw the mic at the stage guy and ran off to my seat in the crowd of contestants.
The night had finally come. I had thought about it all day and sung the song at least 500 times. I was stood backstage watching the seats fill up. I thought “Do people really have nothing better to do?” I couldn’t believe how many people came to watch. One of the dancers went first and did a solo contemporary piece. I’ll never forget being stood in the wing watching everyone do their act, feeling as if my heart would explode. My name was finally called out. I heard all the spa girls screaming my name which only made me more nervous because the people I see all day every day are going to watch me. The soundtrack didn’t start for ages. All I remember was feeling so vulnerable, just waiting for the music to start. The music started. I felt a huge ball appear in my throat, so I frantically started clearing my throat into the mic which distracted me from counting myself in, so I came in late. I sang a few lines and then forgot the words, so just hummed the tune and went into the chorus, which I pretty much screamed out. Going back into the verse I had completely gone blank, so I shouted “Everybody” in the hope that everyone would join in and help me remember the lyrics that I had been singing all blooming day! I think about 5 people joined in, which only made it more embarrassing, but never the less I clung to the sound of those 5 people’s voices for dear life. As the song came to a close, I thought I’d finish it off with a nice little trill at the end, but the ball in the back of my throat came back so it sounded more like I burped into the mic.
The applause at the end was quite clearly a sympathetic “ahhh, you tried” clap. What is it they say? Fail to prepare, prepare to fail. Well, I most certainly confirmed that quote.
Needless to say, I didn’t walk anyway with an extra $1000 but I did leave with a kick to the ego and the title of “The girl who murders music”. To add to the embarrassment, it wasn’t just that one night. Oh no. They thought it was only fair that they continuously re-ran the Talent Show on the Crew TV Channel, 24/7 for a week, just in case anyone had missed it. So for a whole week, I was avoiding tv’s. The worst was having it played during lunch hours in the mess. I would be eating and hear the intro to the song come on and inhale my food and get out of there as fast as I could.
No regrets though. Even if I did crash and burn. Who else can say then embarrassed them selves in front of 500 people.
